Sunday Brew: Entry 1
Good morning my catholic compadres and welcome to the first installment of Catholic Manhood’s Sunday Brew. Each Sunday, I wake up with the sun, brew a hot cup of joe and jot down my ponderings on life, love, faith and pretty much anything that comes to mind. I think for today, I will limit myself to only a couple of topics, as I have to get to Mass much earlier than usual.
But please, I insist. Pull up a chair.
I think it would be who of me to introduce myself vaguely for those around the table. I’m Nick, founder of Catholic Manhood and convert to the faith. There isn’t much about me that would be considered extraordinary - not even in the slightest. I find the One, True Faith to be much more worthy of explanation. However, I wish to share with everyone a most extraordinary blessing bestowed upon me by our Most High God. That blessing has come in the form of a small child growing in the womb of my beloved wife, or as some very vicious-minded people would say - “a clump of cells have formed”. Whichever words one may choose, the fact of the matter is undeniable. I am a father. I am blessed beyond measure. I ask sincerely for your prayers to keep my growing family safe and healthy as time marches on.
The first person we told was Fr. Adam Carrico. He married us after all. As I gushed that I was to be a Father, Fr. Adam stopped me right there, put his finger up in the air, perhaps suggesting of the power that comes from above and whispered “Nick, you ARE a father”, reminding me that as life starts at conception, it is important to use words that give life justice. In a time where morally crippled government institutions would say otherwise, those words mattered all the more and are worthy of being shared, because Truth is always worthy.
To segue, I must tell you of my brief interaction with a catholic professor. (I know segue means a smooth transition, but did I truly perform a smooth transition when the word segue is used? I would assume not, but I hope to get better at this area in my writing as I grow older)
Anyways…yes the catholic professor. I will keep him nameless , but he does teach Theology and Religious studies here in Louisville, KY and he is catholic. On the 10th of February, the professor wrote an article he titled “Unity without Reduction”
I enjoyed the title so I read further;
In late December, I argued in the pages of America that the measures Pope Francis has recently taken against traditionalists—especially the motu proprio Traditionis custodes—seem to contravene his pontificate’s consistent emphasis on dialogue. “Whereas he has a long history of advocating for dialogue with adversaries, arguing that unity cannot be attained by the suppression of one group by another,” I wrote, “Francis appears now to be choosing just that—suppression.”
Since I have linked the above article, you may choose to read it on your own time. I will point out that I have traditional tendencies and more often than not, cling to that tradition. Some would say I suffer from it. The professor’s article was a very well written one and I agreed with it. The point of me bringing it up is that I am a little taken aback that I did agree with it. His defense of catholics with a traditional mindset was refreshing in a world that labels us “rigid”. We all know that words are important. Words mean something. Words have definitive meanings and there is objective truth, even though many deny that simplicity.
This professor labels himself a progressive catholic. Truly, I still have no idea what that means, but to educate myself, I reached out to him and ask him to explain it to me like I was 5. He graciously took the time to sum it up. To summarize, the professor described himself as a progressive with the love of tradition. He believes there is great good in this world and we can learn from it. to learn from it means to push boundaries on “some issues”. Essentially, he is willing to be told by the Church that he is wrong.
I can accept that honest take from him. I both respect and admire that he took that time to explain to me. However, as I have said before - words do have meaning. Although sometimes meaning changes, it only changes when the vast majority of people who use it know of that change.
Mainly, I draw issue with putting anything before the title “catholic”. To put “progressive” in front of “catholic” is to imply one’s progressiveness takes precedence over one’s catholicism. Everyone knows what progressive means in the 21st century….even though it is intentionally ambiguous, the definition lies in that fact. 21st century progressivism, in a nutshell, means;
Subjective truth / your truth
Love is Love
advocates of abortion
So to say something so contrary as “progressive catholic” seems like a silly thing to me. To push boundaries on those same, tired, already answered things is akin to me “just asking questions” about adding twerking into the liturgy.
Logic would imply that I should never even think to push the boundary of twerking being introduced into the liturgy, because it is obviously sinful and stupid.
So really, I still do not know what a progressive catholic is and will argue that one is either progressive…or catholic.
I have to run, but if you could, please subscribe and leave a comment of your thoughts below. See you next week, same spot!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Catholic Manhood
Nick Sledge
Congratulations and prayers for your growing family!
I’m not sure if “the vast majority” is what should be the qualifier for changing the meaning of words. I think of “marriage” as a relevant example, but maybe “life” could be more useful with your article. Words get misused and abused, and I see the importance in fighting for meaning. Liberal is another example that comes to mind; people feel they have to say a classic liberal because liberal has been socially altered. I can respect someone wanting to say “I’m liberal.” with original meaning and defining the new hijackers as something else.
If this is the professor’s perspective on progressive, I can absolutely relate. He could possibly want people to know that to be Catholic is to fight for social reform. Digitizing the Bible and sharing it through different forms that didn’t exist before sounds progressive. I certainly support that. And to support that view doesn’t mean I have to throw away physical bibles or discount word of mouth evangelism but can use both/and. I think for this professor specifically, liturgical twerking might be a straw-man example. If it’s not, then I’d follow up to say defining “progressive” with 21st century eyes sounds very modern and non-traditional.
I’m just now entertaining some other thoughts: I hear Catholics say traditional Catholic or authentic Catholic, and I’m not certain why, but to say Catholic itself is already full of tradition and authenticity and could therefore seem redundant. I’m in total agreement (as of now, I will have to hear what Elisha has to say) on not putting words in front, at least as often as we tend to.
I’m curious whether early Church fathers or Doctors of the Church used adjectives in front of “Catholic”.
What if Catholics did not use adjectives for themselves but rather to distinguish others from them, Eg. non-practicing, appropriating, inauthentic, etc?
Catholic is such a loaded word that it makes me wonder if every word would appear redundant or counter to its meaning and it’s why it should stand alone. Nope, not every adjective. “one” would be very appropriate to use in front of “Catholic”.